High School is Not a Disney Movie
by CanonAntithesis
Summary: Everyone, please give this one a chance. In real life, no one's perfect, not even Troy Bolton. When presented w/something he really wants, even though he knows it's wrong, will he be able to say no? Penname changed from GimmeABeat to CanonAntithesis
1. Troy's Night

**High School is Not a Disney Movie**

_A High School Musical Fanfiction_

**Chapter 1: Troy's Night**

Disclaimer: The Mouse owns High School Musical and the characters within. I'm just borrowing them for awhile. I promise I'll put them back when I'm finished.

Summary: In real life, no one's perfect, not even Troy Bolton. When presented with something he really wants, even though he knows it's wrong, will he be able to say no?

Pairing: TroyPay, of course.

Time frame: Their senior year, around November.

"Come on, man. Go for it!", Chad urged thickly, his eyelids at half mast as he peered at Troy through his tequila and beer induced fog. "Whaja waitin' for, an invitation to the prom?"

Sharpay Evans, sprawled on the mattress, clad only in bra and panties, was in a similar state of inebriation. She looked up at them, giggling as if Chad had said something wildly amusing.

Troy hung back, unsure, but not wanting to appear uncool.

"Fuck you, man. Look at her; she's wasted."

"Don't mean she don't want it."

She was lying on his own bed, in his own room, littered with the trapping of the typical teenage boy -- sports trophies on the shelves, sports posters on the walls, and dirty clothes strewn about on the floor. Chad nudged her with the scuffed toe of his trainer.

"You want it, don't ja, ice princess?"

She mumbled something unintelligible and he returned his bleary-eyed gaze to Troy.

"See? What'd I tell ya?"

Troy wanted to say the party was over as far as he was concerned. He wanted them all to leave his house, but he thought it would make him look like a wuss. He was supposed to be the leader of these guys; they were his posse. Troy settled for a contemptuous snort instead, adopting the pose of someone who was above such sophomoric stunts.

The evening had started out fun. It was his birthday, his eighteenth birthday. And his parents had agreed to let him have a party at his house without any parental interference or supervision, as they called it. He was a little bummed because Gabriella was out of town with her mother, but Chad promised it was still going to be a fucktastic night. And it was ... until Chad had proposed a game of strip poker -- the penalty was a shooter for each item of clothing lost during the game. Chad, Jason and Zeke had only gotten drunk while keeping most of their clothes on. While Chad's girlfriend, Taylor, had ended up passed out, half naked on the living room floor. Most of the others had drifted off, one by one -- all except her, Sharpay Evans.

Troy, who'd consumed his share of alcohol, stood swaying on his feet, bare-chested, wearing only his jeans, as he thought about the best way of get out of this sticky situation. He gazed down at Sharpay who peaked up at him kittenishly through the blond hair tangled about her face. He felt a sudden tug of desire that left him sickened.

"Hey man, you're the team captain -- our playmaker. Don't let us down, man", Jason urged. He was standing next to Chad, looking down at Sharpay with his mouth hanging open.

"Yeah, dude. You're not a faggot, are you?", Zeke asked. Zeke had become a real hanger-on since Sharpay turned him down at the end of the last school year. Now he seemed to shine only in the shadow of Chad. Zeke was looking at Chad now, seeking his approval. "Yeah, I bet he likes it up the ass, don't cha, Troy?" He nudged Chad with his elbow and cackled drunkenly at his own joke.

"Shut the fuck up, moron", Chad snapped at him.

Zeke's innocent face went slack with a hurt expression that was almost comical, exaggerated as it was by a combination of stupidity and alcohol.

Chad turned his attention back to Troy, slinging an arm around his shoulder and leaning in to mutter, "Dude, you don't want people thinking you're some kinda pussy. That wouldn't be cool, would it? Gabi's not here, man. And besides you're not gettin' any from her anyway, are you? Now do your team proud; we're countin' on you." He drew down to wink slyly at Troy as if they were in on some private joke.

"Fuck you", growled Troy, only he was grinning as he said it so as not to confirm his own growing suspicion that he was indeed a pussy.

Chad leaned in close once more, advising in a low and noticeably less warm voice, "Yo, don't be trippin' on me, man. You're makin' me look bad here, being as this is my birthday present to you and all."

"You guys are full of shit", Troy said with a laugh, not wanted to jeopardize his failing standing with them. He still hadn't quite recovered from his nearly ostracized status from the summer at Lava Springs.

He shook his head in mock disgust and tried to push his way past Chad and Zeke. Before he knew it, Chad had him by the arm and was shoving him onto the bed, accompanied by hoots of laughter from Zeke and Jason. By the time Troy managed to scramble to his feet, the other boys were tumbling into the hallway.

The door slammed shut and the room was plunged into darkness. Troy could hear his friends muffled laughter and the sound of a heavy piece of furniture being pushed across the floor on the other side. He staggered over to the door, finding it wedged shut. He banged on it with his fist.

"Come on guys, open up. This isn't funny."

Behind him, Sharpay said with a drunken laugh, "What's the matter, Troy? You scared of the dark, big boy, like you?"

Troy's hand, which had been hovering over the light switch, dropped to his side. "I didn't say that."

"Come over here", she called.

After a moment's hesitation, Troy crossed the room and sat down on the bed, pulling his knees to chest.

"Where are we, anyway? Sorry, I'm a little fucked up at the moment, in case you didn't notice." She gave a soft giggle that turned into a hiccup.

"We're in my room, Sharpay", he said.

She squinted at him with one eye shut. "You're awfully cute when you're nervous. Hey? You're not really gay, are you?" She pushed herself up on her elbows and studied him.

"Don't listen to them. They're full of shit." Troy jerked a thumb in the direction of the door, behind which the cackles were fading from his friends who were moving back down the stairs. "Look, this wasn't exactly my idea", he said coldly. "So if I'm not in the mood to party, you'll have to excuse me."

"Whatever...", she let out a soft burp and flopped onto her back, peering up at him through a web of a tangled hair. "You know what? I always loved you, Troy Bolton."

She skimmed a bare foot along his blue jeaned thigh and he instantly felt himself go hard which only made him more pissed. He pushed her foot away.

"Don't do that."

"What?" She resumed her rubbing.

"What you're doing" He scooted away from her a few inches.

"What's the matter? You don't _like_ me?" She put on a mock offended face.

"Sure, I do ... It's just..." Suddenly, Troy couldn't think why he was being this way. Maybe, Chad was right. Maybe, there was something the matter with him. He wasn't gay or anything, that much he knew. The throbbing in his groin testified to that. But there had to be something seriously fucked up with a guy who just sat there like a lump while a nearly naked girl played footsie with him, his dick about to pop the zipper on his jeans.

"What?", she prompted.

She ran her nails down his arm, nails painted in metallic pink that glittered in the moonlight streaming in through the slats in the blind, making him break out in goosebumps. This time, when he didn't pull away, she looped her arms around his neck and drew him down beside her. The next thing he knew, they were kissing. She tasted of stale beer, but for some reason that only excited him further.

He opened his mouth and let his tongue play over hers. He wondered if she could tell that he was a virgin. Was it possible to know a thing like that just from kissing someone? Would it make any difference to her if she did? Concerns, that sober would have left him paralyzed with anxiety, but that in his present drunken and aroused state, seemed as harmless as the IM chatter popping up on his computer. They kissed awhile longer before Troy was brave enough to work a finger past the elastic band of her panties. Timidly at first, stopping when he felt the wiry brush of her pubic hair against his fingertips.

But she didn't push his hand away, so he kept on going. _She was wet. Oh, God. _ He felt as if he would come just from touching her down there. She unsnapped her bra and wiggled out of her panties. He brought his hand up and he could smell her on him and he thought this must be what it felt like to trip out on some drug. He cupped her breast, running his thumb over the nipple, which stiffened at once, sending a new bolt of pleasure coursing through him. He'd done that -- him.

Just then she murmured thickly, "Troy, oh yeah, baby, do it."

He froze for an instant. The part of him that was whispering that this might not be a good idea nearly getting the better of the other fired up Troy who had only one thing on his mind.

_Fuck it_, he thought. _She wanted it._ And did he want to die a virgin? Because Gabriella had already made it clear she wanted to wait until she got married.

With surprising speed for as drunk as he was, he shed his jeans, kicking them off and across the room. Naked, he stretched out alongside her, the room spinning as if the bed were a raft floating along with the current in a slow moving stream. They kissed some more and then her hand was on his dick, fingers curled around the shaft moving in slow delicious strokes. Oh God, if she didn't stop, he'd come. But he didn't want her to stop. He wanted this feeling to go on forever.

Once again, more feebly now, the voice of reason asserted itself, _she's drunk; she doesn't know what she's doing. Better quit before this gets out of hand. _ But it was just static in his head which he quickly tuned out. And if he didn't happen to have a condom on him, it was probably alright. She hadn't said anything about it which meant she probably did whatever it was that girls did to take care of such matters. She clearly wasn't inexperienced.

He positioned himself at her entrance and tried to slide in, but missed. Sharpay reached down and, taking his cock in her hand, gently guided him in. As he entered her, she cried out, "Yeah, like that. Don't stop!"

It was all the encouragement he needed. One, two strokes and he was coming in a blinding rush. Moments later, he rolled away to find her passed out.

He shivered, but not from the cold. The dizzying high he'd been on had given way to shame. Sharpay. He'd known her forever, practically grown up with her. She was lying on her back, with her eyes closed and her jaw slack, her legs splayed limply apart, snoring lightly.

He kissed her gently on the lips and she stirred slightly in her sleep, muttering something, but she didn't wake. She was dead to the world. And what would he have said anyway? That he was sorry? For what? For fucking her when he knew it was wrong? For betraying his girlfriend? No, it was better this way. With any luck, by morning, she wouldn't remember a thing. It would be like it never happened.

**TBC**

Dipping in the dark side again, guys. Got this idea from seeing commercials for a reality show about high school on some network that we don't get. Anyway...

Please let me know what you think. And remember... in real life, no one's perfect and there are two sides to everything.


	2. Sharpay's Night

**High School is Not a Disney Movie**

_A High School Musical Fanfiction_

**Chapter 2: Sharpay's Night**

Ryan wobbled weakly into Sharpay's room, hugging tightly to his wastepaper basket. He looked even more pale than his norm.

"I can't believe you're going without me", he pouted and then, sank down onto his sister's bed.

Sharpay sat at her makeup table, applying the final touches to her face. She wore a black lace hanky skirt with a straight black miniskirt liner under it and a gauzy pink lace vest, cut low to show her cleavage. She looked over at him with an patronizing smile.

"I didn't tell you to get sick, Ry. And besides, I'm not missing the party of the year just because you've got an upset tummy." She poked out her bottom lip at him with what he thought was a sad look, but then, she turned back to the mirror and finished applying her lip gloss.

"You wouldn't have even gotten an invitation if it wasn't for me. I'm the one who made friends with them this summer. I'm the one who broke into the jock club by playing baseball with them."

"Too bad, so sad." She puckered her lips together and examined her face critically. "Perfect." She blew Ryan's reflection a kiss in the mirror and stood up to face him. "Don't wait up, Ry. I have a feeling this is going to be a night to remember and...", she looked at him pointedly, "don't throw up in my room. Go back to your own first."

She spun on her four-inch sparkley pink Louboutin pumps, which perfectly matched her sparkley pink fingernails, and left the room. Ryan clamped a hand over his mouth and ran out into the hallway, trying disparately to make it to his own room in time.

Troy and Chad stood out on the back deck of Troy's house. Half the guys and a couple of the cheerleaders were playing basketball on the Bolton's full court, a nod to Coach Bolton's basketball obsession.

"They look _good_, don't they?", Chad asked, indicating to their friends on the court.

"Yeah, I think we'll have a great season this year."

"What? Not the guys, you pussy. I'm talkin' 'bout the cheerleaders. Tina and Rachael are hot." Chad took a swig of his beer and raised his eyebrows in a lascivious manner.

"What about Taylor?"

"She ain't here right now and neither is Gabriella. 'Sides, there's nothing wrong with lookin'."

"There you two are", Taylor said as she lead another girl out of the house and toward them. Chad turned his back on the cheerleaders and faced his girlfriend. It was obvious that she had overheard him, so it appeared she was going to let it slide, for now.

"Look who I found." Her voice sounded pleasant, but the expression on her face told a different story. She obviously didn't want this girl here.

"Happy birthday, Troy." Sharpay stepped up and held a beautifully wrapped present out to him. It had a huge dark blue bow centered on the package which was wrapped in silver paper, obviously professionally done.

"Oh, um, thanks, Sharpay", Troy told her. "But you didn't have to bring anything."

"God, Sharpay", Chad groaned. "This isn't a middle school party and don't be expecting gift bags when you leave. Troy, here, is 18 -- legally, he's a man, now. Right, Troy?"

"Umm, yeah. That's right."

Unperturbed by Chad's ribbing, Sharpay encouraged, "Go ahead, Troy. Open it." Her whiskey colored eyes lit up with delight.

Troy tore into the packaging and pulled open the box underneath. His eyes lit up when he opened it.

"Oh wow. It's..."

"Yep", Sharpay finished for him. "It's the same brand you wore when you were the golf pro at Lava Springs. I know how you loved those shoes." He still had his job there, but he only waited tables on the weekends now. The golf job was long gone, as were the shoes.

"Yeah, I think he actually cried when he had to give those back", Chad added, unsolicited.

Ignoring Chad, Troy said sincerely, "It was really nice of you, Sharpay. Thanks."

"My pleasure", she licked her lips and smiled back at him.

Chad noticed the exchange between the two and instantly came up with a great plan for Troy's surprise birthday present.

"Come on, Chad", Taylor urged while pushing him back into the house. "Let's dance."

Two hours later, Sharpay was bored stiff. She alone sat in an isolated corner of the living room, sipping on her Diet Coke. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come here without Ryan. These weren't her friends. And even with Gabriella gone, she'd hardly had a chance to talk to Troy since she gave him his present. A smile crept onto her face when she remembered how Fulton had trembled in fear when she ordered him to find Troy the exact same style and size as he wore during the summer. But he came through. Fulton always did. Sometimes fear was a very good thing.

She was a little surprised when she looked down and saw two very large feet standing in front of her. She looked slowly and expectantly up, hoping to see Troy on the other end of those feet. Sharpay tried not to let the disappointment show when she realized it was Zeke Baylor, her short-lived boyfriend. Boyfriend was actually pushing it. They dated twice and once she discovered that she had gained two pounds from all the cookies he fed her, she dumped him before it went any further.

"Hey, Sharpay. How you doing?"

"Fine", and then she amended, "A little bored actually."

"Ah, then I've got just the thing", Zeke told her.

That's when she noticed that he had both hands hidden behind his back.

Eying him suspiciously, Sharpay said, "That better not be a cookie behind your back, Zeke Baylor."

"Oh no, I learned my lesson on that one."

He showed his hands to reveal two yellow Solo cups. She arched an eyebrow at that.

"I'm not drinking that. You think I'm stupid or something? Hey, I used to watch Veronica Mars, you know?"

"You wound me, Sharpay", Zeke said with a look of mock horror on his face. "Here, I'll drink out of both of them."

He did and then he continued to drink, seeming to have forgotten that she was there.

"Hello?", she finally asked, impatiently, "Wasn't one of those mine?"

He started to hand one of the cups over to her, but she held up her hand to stop him.

"Like I'm supposed to drink after you?"

Zeke shrugged, "Suit yourself."

"Hey! Let's dance", she suggested after a few minutes of awkwardly watching Zeke drink first out of one, then the other, cup.

This was better. They had danced to three songs and even created enough interest to lure a few other people out into the make-shift dance floor, otherwise known as the Bolton's living room.

Thirty minutes later, they giggled their way into the kitchen, out of breath and breathing hard. Zeke poured them two more drinks from the punch bowl on the kitchen island.

"Do you trust me now?", he asked wryly.

"Sure." She was really thirsty and Zeke seemed okay after finishing off the other two drinks. Sharpay took a huge gulp out of hers and her eyes bulged out in surprise, but she managed to get it swallowed amid much coughing and throat burning.

When she could finally talk again, she managed to rasp out, "What's in this?"

"Good, ain't it? It's margarita punch -- something Chad came up with."

"It's got alcohol in it?"

"Fuck, yeah" and then he immediately clamped his hand over his mouth, embarrassed that he had cursed in front of her. "Oops, sorry 'bout that." And then, "Hey, you're not like Gabriella, are you? I mean her not bein' here is one of the reasons we got the alcohol."

That took Sharpay by surprise. She wasn't against drinking for any kind of moral reasons; it's just that alcohol had way too many empty calories for her. But to be compared to Gabriella...

She took another sip of her drink for fortification. "Nope, I don't have a problem with this."

Therefore, twenty minutes later, when Chad suggested they all play a game of strip poker, Sharpay thought that sounded like a fine idea.

Vivian Evans groaned from being awaken from her sleep, looking over at the dimly lit digital clock and seeing the steady red glow of 3:17. She tried to determine what had awaken her when she realized it must have been the sound of a car coming up her driveway.

"Vance...", she whispered to her husband as she nudged him not so gently. "I think I heard Sharpay's car. Get up and go down with me."

"Hmmm?"

"Come on, there's strength in numbers and I've never been good at disciplining her." Then, she nudged him again. "Get! Up!"

When Vivian walked out on her front portico, she was confused at first when she didn't see Sharpay's pink Mustang. She was sure she had heard a car. Then, she spied a dark form at the end of the driveway, near the street, and started to walk slowly towards it.

Half-way down the long drive, she turned back towards the house and called out to her husband, "Oh my God, Vance! Get out here now! I've found Sharpay!"

When Vivian reached her daughter, Sharpay was lying unmoving on the dark asphalt pavement.

"Sharpay?", the older woman called frantically.

Sharpay lifted two heavy lids and bleared back at the mother in the moonlight.

"Mom?", she slurred as she came awake. "What are you doin' here?"

"You're at home, Sharpay." Then, drawing a little closer, the older blonde got a whiff of her daughter's breath. "You're drunk! And how did you get here? Where's your car?" When there was no forthcoming answer she said, "Come on, let's get you into the house."

Just then, Vance arrived and looked down in disdain at his only daughter. "Sharpay", he barked, "What the hell is going on? The neighbors could see you. Get up!" He reached down and roughly grabbed her by the arm, jerking her to her feet.

It was way too much movement for a barely conscious drunken teenager and Sharpay clutched her stomach as she heaved its contents all over herself and her father.

"Damn", Vance moaned as the acid smell of the vomit hit his nostrils. There had already been enough throwing up in this house for one day.

"Come on, baby", her mother said, gingerly taking her by the elbow and guiding her towards the house. "Let's get you cleaned up."

"Oh, what a shame, Sharpay. Your brand new Louboutin's are ruined."

Vivian Evans was holding onto the now putrescent shoes by two fingers as she sadly dumped them into the trashcan. Sharpay slumped down on the toilet lid watching her mother wearily. How had she gotten home? She wasn't sure.

_The last thing she remembered was ..._

"Up you go, Sharpay. Let's get those clothes off, but I'm afraid they're not salvageable either."

She pulled the girl up to a shaky standing position and unbuttoned her vest for her.

"Hmmm, you didn't wear a bra tonight", her mother muttered in mild scorn. "You know I don't approve of that."

"Wha...?"

_No, the last thing she remembered, she was ..._

Vivian pulled the skirt down to Sharpay's ankles and gasped. "Sharpay?", she asked in a low voice, laced with trepidation. "Where are your panties?"

_... in a bed ... _

"My panties?", she asked in genuine confusion.

_... with Troy Bolton. Oh my God._

And then, her mother saw the tell-tell signs of something else, something far more serious than drinking too much and misplacing your undergarments. On the insides of Sharpay's thighs were flaky, iridescent remains of male ejaculate.

"Sharpay, baby? What have you done?"

"Done?", she echoed numbly.

"Sharpay, look at me. You've had sex. The smell of it is still on you. Now, tell me what happened."

"I-I don't know. I'm not completely sure. It's all sort of fuzzy, Mom. We were playing strip poker and drinking, ... a lot, and then, I woke up in a bed and...", Sharpay hesitated here, feeling that she shouldn't reveal too much, plus she truly couldn't remember very much. "I'm not sure what happened after that."

Her mother stood up slowly and with a worried look on her face left the room.

She was still confused by what had happened. _It was all so bleary. Troy and others... Chad was there; she was almost sure and drunken laughter, then..._

Sharpay stepped slowly into the shower, looking forward to washing off all of the remnants of the evening. She closed the clear shower door and reached over to turn on the water when the bathroom door bammed open and her father stormed into the small room, trailed closely by her mother.

"Dad!", Sharpay exclaimed as she grabbed for a towel. "What's going on?"

"Get out of the shower, Sharpay. We're taking you to the hospital."

"The hospital? But I'm feeling better. I just really need a shower."

"No, Sharpay", her father said firmly. "Your mother told me what she found. You were raped Sharpay and someone's going to pay for this."

"Hello, Sharpay. I'm Maggie and I'm a certified SANE, that's an acronym for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner."

An attractive woman in her mid-thirties stood by Sharpay's hospital bed. Thankfully, the emergency room personnel had placed her in a private examination room instead of one of the more public curtained off areas. And more thankfully, her parents were waiting outside. After Vance Evans' loud tirade at the admissions desk over forcing his only daughter to wait since she had been _raped_, Sharpay wasn't sure she'd ever be able to walk through that room again.

Sharpay immediately picked up on one word, _assault _and in a small voice she tried to explain to the nurse. "I'm not really sure that I was assaulted."

"I see", she said, not unkindly. "So you had consensual sex with your ... boyfriend?" It wouldn't be the first time a teenage girl's parents had forced an assault charge because they didn't want to believe daddy's little girl would commit such a grown-up act.

"I don't have a boyfriend and I ... I'm sorry, but I don't really remember very much about what happened. I ... um ... was drunk."

Maggie took a deep breath. "Look Sharpay, there's a reason I prefer to do these exams and interviews without the parents around. You can talk to me. Anything you say will stay in this room."

The nurse stopped for a moment to let what she said register in Sharpay's hung over mind.

"So what can you tell me about what happened tonight?"

"I-I don't know", Sharpay choked out tearfully. "We were playing strip poker and drinking and then, I was in a bed." She licked her lips nervously and then quickly lied, "I don't know whose."

What an odd way to phrase that, thought Maggie. "And then, what happened?"

Sharpay realized she needed to be very careful about what she said and how she said it. She didn't want to get Troy in trouble.

"There ... was a boy there, but it was very dark. I couldn't see him." That's all completely true, such as it was. Again, she licked her lips. "Then, we ... kissed and ... and that's when it's gets fuzzy. I don't really remember much more than that until my mom found me in my driveway."

"In your driveway? You mean, someone dumped you out in the middle of the night." The beginnings of anger coated the nurse's words.

"I suppose."

Maggie took a deep breath. "Okay Sharpay, I'm going to do a head-to-toe examination of you to look for any trauma. Just so you know, it will include internal swabs to gather any forensic evidence, in case there's any future prosecution." Sharpay had a pained expression on her face. "I'm also going to draw blood to test for HIV and other STDs. And I have another question for you, dear. Are you on any sort of birth control -- pills, the patch, shots, anything?"

She was still thinking about the HIV and STD tests and the nurse's question caught her off guard, so she answered automatically.

"Oh no, I don't use anything...", then she paled dramatically. "I mean ... I ..." She hadn't sleep with anyone since Javier, the lifeguard from Lava Springs, and he almost used a condom. And anyway, that was last summer. Oh, God.

"It's okay, Sharpay. That's what Plan B is for."

"Plan B?

"Yes, Plan B, also known as the morning after pill. Now, I'll need you to take one pill now and the second one, twelve hours later. Do you understand?"

Oh God, did she ever. She'd somehow had unprotected sex with Troy Bolton and now she had to make sure that she didn't get pregnant.

"Could ... could you please go get my mom? I-I need her right now."

The nurse reached over and patted her hand. "I'll get her and don't worry. It's going to okay, honey."

**TBC**

A/N: Hey, somebody pointed out that this plot sounded just like Unlove You. Well, if you've gotten this far, you have to realize that it's not. I didn't think the 1st chapter was like that either, but anyway. I was trying to sound really gritty in the 1st chapter. It was Troy's first time. He doesn't know what's he's doing, so he comes in about 3 strokes (sorry for the crudism) and she passes out before it's even over. I don't know about you people, but it takes a little practice to get good at this. Oh and that 1st chapter was purposely crude because it was from Troy's POV, ie, using words like dick and fuck and faggot, etc. I was trying to sound like a real teenage boy, not a Disney character.

I'm stopping now because this author's note is getting as long as the chapter.

Peace out. And let me know what you think, even if you don't like it.


	3. The Morning After

**High School is Not a Disney Movie**

_A High School Musical Fanfiction_

**Chapter 3: The Morning After**

"Troy! Troy!", a shrill, loud voice drilled directly into Troy's skull.

He had just managed to get his locker open on the third try. And he was standing there with the door open trying to remember which books he needed for the first class. Suddenly, arms accompanied the attack on the cranium as his ribs were squeezed into a tight hug. And he now recognized his girlfriend's voice.

"Happy late birthday! I'm sorry I missed it!"

"Ugh, please Gabbie, stop screaming at me", Troy moaned while clutching one hand to his head.

"Oh Troy, what's wrong with you?", Gabriella asked when she moved around in front of him. "You look horrible, baby. Your eyes are blood-shot and your skin is..." She studied him closely as her eyes grew wide. Then, she exclaimed angrily, "Are you hungover?"

"Please, Gabbie. My head is about to blow off."

"Oh, Troy", she said disappointedly. "How could you do this? You know how I feel about drinking. I grew up with an alcoholic father. That's why my mom divorced him" Her voice had dropped to a whisper. "I told you that. I can't believe you did this." She crossed her arms over her chest waiting for his response.

"I'm sorry, really I am, but it was my birthday and Chad spiked ..."

"Don't you dare blame this on Chad, Troy Bolton. _You_ are responsible for _your_ own actions. You can't let peer pressure rule your life."

_Responsible ... peer pressure ... actions ... your life ..._

Troy's bedraggled brain was swimming. He blinked his eyes trying to clear both his thoughts and his vision. By the time he noticed, Gabriella had disappeared down the hall.

When he was called into Mr. Matsui's office, one look on the man's face showed Troy that it wasn't to offer encouragement on the upcoming basketball season. The expression on the principal's face was grim. As he sank into the chair opposite Mr. Matsui's desk, Troy sensed he was in trouble, the kind of trouble that had last night's activities written all over it. A cold wave of panic went through him and he felt his hangover drain away, leaving him clear headed.

"I just got off the phone with Mrs. Evans", Mr. Matsui said. Troy's spine stiffened. "She's extremely upset", the principal went on. "It seems Sharpay ran into some trouble last night. Would you know anything about that, son?" He stared at Troy across the cluttered surface of his desk.

Troy schooled his face in what he hoped was an innocent expression. "Well yeah, she was at my party last night, along with some other people. Okay, we had a little too much to drink." He shrugged as if to say, _you know how it is_.

But even as he spoke, images from last night flashed through his head. Sharpay was passed out on his bed, her thighs sticky with his come. Then later, he and Chad and Zeke carried her outside and Jason, the only one sober enough to drive, brought the car around. Shame welled up in him when he thought about how they'd dumped her in front of her house like so much garbage.

"I'm afraid it's not as simple as that."

"She's alright, isn't she?" A new fear crept in. Troy had heard about people dying of alcohol poisoning, supposed something like that had happened to Sharpay.

"She's fine", said the principal in a tone that said while she wasn't in any mortal danger, things were far from _fine_. "But the police have been called in, so if there's anything that you need to get off your chest, I think now's the time."

"The police?" Troy's voice went up an octave.

"She claims she was raped."

After several moments of silence in which every sound seemed amplified: the ring of the fourth period bell, the tapping of fingers on the keyboard in the outer office, the hum of the copy machine, Mr. Matsui gave him another chance.

"Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Troy shook his head, "No, sir."

The principal's eyes narrowed. He seemed to be trying to determine if Troy was holding back or if it was the shock making Troy so uncommunicative. He must have decided that Troy was innocent because he said, not unkindly, "In any case, I don't think you should say anything to the police until we've spoken to your parents. We'll be questioning everyone who was at the party. If you'll give me a list of your guests, I can intercede on your behalf with the police." Troy nodded slowly. "Your dad is at a seminar in Sante Fe until tomorrow. I assume your mother is home?"

"No, sir. She's with my dad."

He raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment. Jack and Lucille Bolton allowed their son to host a birthday party with them out of town. What did they think, that Troy was one of those idealized Disney teens?

Troy slowly slid into the lunch seat next to Chad. His curly haired friend was shoveling food in his mouth as fast as he could.

"Chad, we need to talk." Troy's voice is tense. He doesn't even crack a joke about Chad's iron-clad stomach when his would barely hold down a glass of water.

"What's wrong? You feelin' guilty or somethin'?", Chad said with a chuckle.

"This is serious, man. Sharpay told her parents she was raped."

"That bitch!", Chad exclaimed a little too loudly and several people turned to look at him. Instantly, he dropped his voice and hissed lowly so no one could overhear, "That lyin' little bitch."

"I had to give a list of everyone who came to my party to Matsui."

"Shit, Troy. Why you wanna go draggin' us into this?"

"Dragging...", he nearly shouted and then, immediately lowered his voice. "Dragging _you_ into this? Hell, Chad. It was all your idea, you dickwad."

Chad quickly rose to his feet. "Yeah well, it wutn't me that done the deed, so looks like you're the dickwad, _dickwad_." Then, he walked out of the cafeteria without a second thought.

Troy was about to get up and leave until he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. Slowly, he turned around in his seat and met the intense gaze of Ryan Evans. He must have just come out of the lunch line because he's carrying a full tray of food. Sharpay was nowhere to be seen, but Troy already knew that. Not surprisingly, she wasn't in homeroom this morning. Ryan looked tired and Troy wasn't sure if it was from his stomach bug or the turmoil which must have gone on at his house earlier today.

Their eyes met for what felt to Troy like an hour, but in reality must have only been a few seconds. Suddenly, Troy looked away, unable to handle the other young man's scrutiny. He got up and left the cafeteria as quickly as possible.

Ryan continued to stare at the back of his retreating head until Troy disappeared from sight.

"Hey, Shar."

"Hey, Ryan."

They were both trying to sound casually on the "anything but" day.

She stood at the kitchen counter with a pill in one hand and a glass of water in the other. She stopped and looked over at her brother when he walked into their kitchen.

"How was school?", she asked quietly.

"Fine, would have been better with you there, though."

"Mom says I'll go tomorrow."

He walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water, then joining his sister at the counter, "What's the pill for? It's not one of Mom's, is it?"

They had both experimented with their mother's prescription drugs before -- nothing serious and they hadn't done it in years, but still.

"No, Ryan. It's mine." She held up the pill between her thumb and forefinger and appeared to be studying,... pondering it. Then, she quickly popped it in her mouth, followed by a large gulp of water.

"You're not doing anything stupid, are you, Sharpay?"

"I've already done that, Ryan." She turned and walked away.

Ryan sighed deeply and took another drink of water. Then, he noticed the aluminum and plastic pill wrapping left discarded on the counter. He could see that two pills had been pushed out of the holder.

"1. Take the first tablet as soon as possible within 72 hours of unprotected sex. 2. Take the second tablet 12 hours after you take the first tablet." Ryan read the printed directions. "Oh, hell."

_He'd been awakened by his father shouting at his mother. The two of them were standing in the hallway outside Sharpay's room and his mother was trying ineffectively to calm him. _

"_Don't you understand, Vivian? Our little girl's been raped. Someone probably slipped her one of those date rape drugs you hear about all the time."_

"_Honey", soothed his mother's voice, "we don't actually know that. She's obviously had too much to drink and..."_

"_Are you saying that our daughter, our 17 year old daughter, got drunk at some party and willingly fell into bed with some boy. Well, I don't believe it and you shouldn't either!" His normally booming voice was almost shaking the foundations of the house at this point. "Come on, Viv. We're taking her to the hospital and we'll get to the bottom of this."_

Ryan pretended to be asleep when his mother checked on him before they left with Sharpay. Then, today at lunch, when he saw Troy and Chad arguing, he knew instinctively that it was about what happened to Sharpay. Chad looked angry and Troy looked guilty. Instinct also told him that guilt was the appropriate emotion to have in this very bad situation, so Ryan decided right then, he would be keeping a close eye on Troy Bolton. He didn't know exactly what happened, but he wasn't as dumb as everyone thought he was. He'd figure out the truth; he had to.

**TBC**

A/N:

Favorite review was from _**the road to damascus**_

"I'm totally loving this, and when I read the part where Sharpay gets dropped off in the driveway passed out all I could think of was 'holy crap, shades of Marissa Cooper'. This whole thing has the potential to go very, very wrong. And I love ghetto!Chad."

Yeah, somebody else said this sounded like something from The OC. And as is obvious now, it is going very, very wrong.

So, what do you all think? I think this is a more realistic look at what would happen. Still going for the real life aspect here, I hope.

Please tell me what you think. It means a lot.


	4. Legal Troubles

**High School is Not a Disney Movie**

_A High School Musical Fanfiction_

**Chapter 4: Legal Troubles**

Troy pulled his truck into the driveway behind his dad's Jeep Cherokee. He wondered how long they'd been home from Sante Fe. He took a deep breath before turning off the vehicle. Mr. Matsui told him he would be given a chance to explain things to his parents before the police did, but only if he told them today. He wasn't looking forward to this conversation.

"Troy, is that you?" Troy heard his mom call out from down the hall.

Troy was too nervous to respond. Instead, he went over to the refrigerator to get a glass of orange juice.

"Your dad's in the backyard", she continued to talk to him from the other room. "He wanted to grill out tonight. I have to say, honey, that I'm a little disappointed in you."

_Disappointed? I'm disappointed in me, too_, thought Troy.

She continued, "This house is a mess. ... And just look at your room ..."

_Oh hell, she's in my room. Was there anything in there?_

A few minutes of silence passed as Troy started to sweat.

"Troooy?", she asked with anger in her voice. "What's the meaning of _this_?"

Troy looked up to see Lucille Bolton standing at the doorway to the kitchen holding up two articles of clothing, Sharpay's bra and panties. This wasn't how he'd planned on telling her.

Just then, Jack came in through the back door, but the smile fell away from his face when he saw the anger in his wife's eyes and the open look of fear in Troy's.

"What's going on?", Jack ventured to ask.

"That's what I'd like to know", Lucy said while holding up the undergarments for him to see.

Jack's face broke into a small smile and he looked at his wife as he said, patronizingly, "Come on, Lucy. The boy's eighteen. And he and Gabbie have been dating for over six months. I'm surprised we haven't found evidence of this sort of thing before now. And as long as they use protection..."

"Jack!", she exclaimed. "I can't believe your laissez-faire attitude."

Troy swallowed hard and cleared his throat to get his parents attention. "Um... Mom ... Dad. Those's aren't Gabbie's."

His parent's wide eyes bored down on him like lasers. Troy swallowed again, just as the doorbell chimed.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

"Oh God, I can't believe this is happening", Lucy exclaimed as she paced back and forth in the small room. "I mean this is ridiculous. How could they possibly think that Troy could have done such a thing? He's a good boy. He just wouldn't... I know it."

Jack took his wife in his arms and lead her back to the hard plastic seats. "Of course, he wouldn't, Lucy. They're testing every boy who was at the party. And then they'll find out that Troy had nothing to do with this. Absolutely nothing."

"But Jack... He's admitted he slept with her. Did they take precautions? I didn't think to ask. And if they didn't and the police match his DNA... then, it's just his word against hers", Lucy spoke more and more rapidly.

"Honey...", Jack started, just as the door opened.

Troy walked in, followed by a tall man wearing a white dress shirt and tie and a badge clipped to his belt which clearly identified him as a police detective. He had a serious expression on his face when he said, "He's free to go now, but don't leave town."

"Why would he do that? Troy doesn't have anything to hide", Lucy snapped a little more harshly than she intended.

"Of course not, ma'am." The policeman turned and left them alone in the waiting room.

Troy was staring down intently at his feet when he mumbled, "They said it would take a week or so for the results to come in."

"Let's talk about this at home", Jack announced.

They're just leaving the room when Troy saw a familiar face.

"Danforth", he said curtly.

"Bolton", Chad scowled at him.

Chad's mother was with him and Lucy greeted her affectionately with a hug. "Sandra, how are you?"

"I've been better", Sandra Danforth admitted bluntly.

"This whole thing is crazy and I'm sure the police will sort it all quickly."

"Well, if your son would learn to keep his pecker in his pants, we wouldn't be having this discussion", Sandra bit out viciously. Chad snickered at the comment.

Lucy was too stunned to reply and Jack quickly pulled her away and out the building.

Once they were in the car and driving home, Lucy finally said, "What the hell was that all about?" No one responded.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Ryan put his car in park and looked over at Sharpay with concern. "You okay?" She looked a little pale.

She swallowed hard and looked over at him. "I'm a little nauseous", she admitted slowly. "It's one of the side effects of ..." She stopped abruptly and studied his face. _How much did Ryan really know about what happened?_

"The abortion pill", he supplied suddenly.

Her eyes grew wide and then, narrowed quickly. "It's a morning after pill, Ryan. _Not_ an abortion pill. It doesn't end a pregnancy; it just ensures that I don't get ... pregnant." Her voice had dropped so low that Ryan had to strain to hear her.

"Damn, Sharpay. I thought you were smarter than this." Without waiting for a reply, he got out of the car and walked into the school.

Sharpay took a deep breath and clutched her pink Louis Vuitton messenger bag tightly to her chest and started walking quickly into the building. Luckily, the halls were nearly deserted as she barely made it to the closest bathroom before vomiting into the toilet.

Fifteen minutes later, after she had rinsed out her mouth and reapplied her makeup, Sharpay emerged from the restroom, ready to take on the day. ... Or not.

Forming a human wall in front of her were Chad, Zeke, Jason and two other jocks whom she had never bothered to learn their names.

"Hey there, ice princess. Not feeling so good today. Feelin' a little ... guilty", Chad said slowly and menacingly.

Sharpay backed up until she hit the bank of lockers behind her and she had a sudden flashback to the night of Troy's party. She heard Chad's voice drag out to her,_"You want it, don't ja, ice princess?"_

She shook herself out of that memory and looked up to see Coach Bolton pulling Chad back, away from her.

"Chad ... boys", Coach said conversationally, "Don't you all have somewhere to be? Class, perhaps?"

"Oh, of course, Coach. We were just discussing the latest school drama with Sharpay, here ... since she's such a great actress and all." Chad sounded like he just stepped out of a television set with his white bread, no sign of an accent, voice.

"Just mind your own business, Chad. And right now, your business is getting to class."

Chad held his hands up in the air in a show of surrender and he and the others turned around and left.

Sharpay breathed a sigh of relief. She had never felt frightened of anyone, but Chad made her nervous.

"Thanks, Coach. I really appreciate it", Sharpay said with a smile.

The Jack Bolton who turned back to her wasn't the school gym coach, but a father whose son was the prime suspect in a rape case.

"Then why don't you stop lying about what happened between you and my son?" He walked away before she could respond -- not that she would have, not that she could have.

_Damn it! Why doesn't anyone believe me? I'm not lying. I just don't remember and Daddy..._

She remembered back to the previous night when her father had a family meeting with everyone except Ryan. Thinking back on it, Sharpay thought that their father was trying to, somehow, protect him from the realities of the world.

"_The detective in charge of the investigation is an old friend of mine. Joe Mundy. He called tonight to tell me that all of the boys from the party came in voluntarily to give a blood sample for the DNA testing. Then, it will be compared with the ...", Vance Evans couldn't bring himself to say, semen found inside his only daughter, so he opted for a more vague approach. "... the evidence collected at the hospital. The results should be back in about five days. He was able to put a rush on it."_

"_Daddy, is this really necessary? I mean I don't want ... anyone to get in trouble." Sharpay almost said Troy's name, but caught herself. "I'm sorry I drank so much that night, but ... what if ... um ... it wasn't rape?"_

"_What else could it have been, Sharpay?" His abrupt change in demeanor and the increased volume of his voice caused her to visibly wince and shrink away from her father._

"_Vance, calm down", Vivian said placidly. She had been sitting quietly with her eyes closed until then, breathing in and out, slowly and deeply. It was one of the relaxation techniques she employed during times of great stress._

"_No!", Vance snapped. "I won't calm down! Even if Sharpay had agreed to have ... relations with some boy ... what kind of a sick, son of a bitch would have sex with a girl who was so drunk she didn't even remember doing it. That's rape, Vivian. If she was too drunk to give consent, then it's rape. End of discussion."_

The shrill sound of the first bell sounded and bought Sharpay back to the present. She swallowed down the bile trying to rise in her throat and walked with purpose quickly down the hall toward class.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Five days later, Troy Bolton, eighteen years old and considered to be a legal adult, was booked on one count of rape against a minor unnamed female. Sharpay was not named in the case because she had not turned eighteen yet and was legally considered a juvenile.

**TBC**

HeSaidSheSaidx

You said, "So even though she was basically raped, once again it was partially her own fault. Still feel bad for her though if that even makes sense."

YES! This is the kind of stuff I want to hear. I'm really hoping this story spurs on some serious discussion about this. cuz this isn't 'rape rape'; it isn't 'date rape'; it's more like 'gray rape'. and i didn't make that up. it's a real term.

From: SoNotEmo () -- Ryan is suspicious, Sharpay is shaken, Troy is guilty, and Chad truly is being a dickwad. What a lovely Disney story! LOL, update soon 


	5. Troy's Whacked World

**High School is Not a Disney Movie**

_A High School Musical Fanfiction_

**Chapter 5: A Whacked World**

It didn't take long for Coach and Mrs. Bolton to post bail and hire a lawyer. Troy was back at school after only missing one day. Ironically, Sharpay only missed one day of school in this whole drama too. Unfortunately, the drama was just beginning.

Troy turned off his truck and just sat behind the wheel, trying to work up enough courage to go inside. He doesn't want to think about what his friends will say when they find out he was charged with a crime and that he'll probably be put on trial and could even ... go to jail.

_God...how had things gone so wrong?_

_And Gabby? He honestly hadn't even had time to consider what this must have done to her. She's his girlfriend. Well, at least she was until she dumps him. There's no way she won't dump him. Hell, he'd dump himself if he could._

_Give it up, Bolton. Time to face the music._

He was almost to the front doors of the school and no one had spoken to him, so he thought he was in the clear until someone caught him by the arm.

"Troy", called Gabriella as she grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the door and around the corner where they could be alone.

"I heard what happened", she said in a very serious tone when they were ensconced in a small alcove which lead to the gymnasium.

"I-I can explain", Troy replied nervously, without meeting her eyes.

"Explain what? That Sharpay Evans is a class-A bitch. We already know that, Troy."

Her words stunned him, but then she did something that stunned him even more. Gabriella pulled him into a tight hug and started sobbing into his chest. Finally, she seemed to gather her self control enough to pull back from him slightly, but she continued to hug as she spoke.

"I can't believe she made up all that crap about you. I _know_ you, Troy. And I know you would never do anything with Sharpay. You wouldn't even kiss her, let alone sleep with her. And to accuse you of ...", her voice dropped to a whisper, "... _rape_ ... That's absurd and she's not going to get away with it."

"Gabby...", Troy reached up and held her by her shoulders, "I-I'm sorry, but..."

Before he could confess his sin to his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend, Chad opened the gymnasium door and pulled both of them inside.

"Man, this is shit!", he exclaimed angrily. Gabriella gave him a warning glare. He knew she didn't approve of his foul language. He ignored her and then, quickly pulled Troy into a short hug before continuing with his tirade. "She's not going to get away with this, dude. I mean, you're my best friend, right? And best friends stick together."

Troy was stupefied, but said nothing. Instead he let them lead him out into the main hallway while Chad and Gabriella continued to vilify Sharpay with every breath. Eventually, they ended up in front of Troy's locker and Gabby gave him a quick peck on the cheek and then, ran off to her first class alone.

"Duude!", Chad drawled after Gabriella left. "You are the luckiest bastard on the face of the earth." At Troy's confused expression, he explained. "Troy, my man, half the school thinks Sharpay is a lying bitch who made up the whole thing. Most of those are girls, by the way. And the other half are way impressed that you nailed the Ice Bitch and a quarter of those are convinced that you really did rape her, but that she, totally, deserved it. This is awesome! Hey, I'll catch you at lunch, man. Bye!" And Chad took off down the hall to where Taylor was standing with a small group of school nerds.

_This is whacked_, thought Troy. _Totally, whacked._

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Troy and his parents entered the modestly furnished law office of Anthony Russell. Tony, an old friend of Lucille Bolton, had agreed to take Troy's case.

"Lucy...", Tony said in a friendly tone, as he came around the desk to give her a quick hug. "It's been too long and I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Me, too, Tony. Me, too."

They all sat down awkwardly and waited for the lawyer to begin.

"Well, I've reviewed the police files", Tony gave a slight nod to the distraught teenager, "and I'd definitely like to take this case. If it weren't for the Evans money, this wouldn't even be happening now."

"If you knew Troy, you'd know he isn't remotely capable of doing such a thing. It's all a big mistake or ... he's being set up", Jack said with a sigh.

"The arraignment is in five days and we'll definitely be pleading not guilty, right Troy?", Tony prompted.

"Um yeah, right, Mr. Russell", Troy said nervously. He pulled unconsciously at his collar and straightened up in his chair.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Life was going great for Troy ... in a strange, twisted sort of way. He'd made up with his best friend, Chad; he and Gabby were as strong as ever; and the strangest thing of all, he had become this weird kind of folk hero. People he didn't even know would come up to him in the halls and clap him on his back or high five him or just say, "Way to go, man." Yep, it was one more twisted world.

Troy was late for class, but he wasn't hurrying as he made his way to his locker on his way to first period. He and his dad had just come from a meeting with his lawyer and he had a slip to enter class late. The arraignment was tomorrow morning and Mr. Russell wanted to go over a few details before appearing in court.

Therefore, he was lost in thought when he turned the corner and heard sniffling coming from down the hall, near his own locker. As he drew closer he realized it was Sharpay and she was crying and cursing quietly while frantically rubbing at her locker with the sleeve of her sweater.

Someone had written graffiti all over her bright pink door. "Bitch!", "Liar", and "Whore" were just a few of the words he could make out. The door is so completely covered in dark, puke green spray paint, that one would never know it had ever been pink.

"Hey", Troy said quietly as he went to open his own locker, three doors away from hers.

Sharpay looked up in surprise when she heard his voice. "I-I'm not supposed to talk to you", she whispered in an uncharacteristically timid voice. She seemed to shrink back a little in his presence.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you, either", Troy acknowledged, but then continued as if he hadn't said anything. "I'm sorry about your locker. I didn't realize people were giving you a hard time."

Of course, he should have realized it. If everyone was treating him like a king, they must be treating her like dirt. It only made sense.

"What are you talking about? Are you blind? I'm the evil ice bitch from hell, come up to seduce and destroy the perfect Troy Bolton. It says so right here on my locker, so don't pretend that you don't know anything about this. For all I know, you were in on it." She went back to scrubbing her locker, but it only seemed to be spreading the paint around.

"Honestly, I didn't know. Look, I've been really busy with this whole court thing and meeting with my lawyer and stuff. I haven't been listening to stupid gossip around the school. I swear."

Troy raised his hands in surrender and she seemed to study them intently before exhaling and relaxing a little. Then, he quietly walked away and Sharpay gave him a confused look before going back to her futile task. Less than five minutes later, Troy silently walked up with a bucket of soapy water and started helping her clean off her once sparkling locker door.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Tony Russell was a smooth as silk when approached the jury box to deliver his statement regarding Troy's case.

"My client is an 18 year old boy with no history of juvenile delinquency or school misconduct. He's an ordinary teenager engaging in age appropriate activities. He got together with a girl at a party and they engaged in consensual sex. I see no reason this should go to trial."

The Assistant District Attorney shot to his feet immediately to accuse Tony of being flippant about this serious accusation.

"Your honor, with all due respect, no one is disputing the seriousness of the charge and we would like to make sure that this young man is not being made an example of, beyond what justice is called for. If it were a crime for teenagers to have sex, we'd all be on trial."

A ripple of laughter went through the courtroom.

"Therefore, we respectfully enter a plea of not guilty."

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

An hour later the Boltons were sitting in Tony's office to find out if the grand jury would send the trial forward or ruled as they hoped and dismiss the case completely.

The distinctive beeping of the fax machine broke the silence and Tony quickly went over and pulled off the paper.

"The DA's office just faxed over the results of the DNA test on the semen. Apparently, Troy was the only one Sharpay Evans was with that night. Now there's no easy way out, not unless the girl decides to come clean."

"Not unless one of the other boys used a condom?", Coach Bolton asked.

"Possible... but all three boys deny having sex with her."

He drew in a breath, trying to steady his nerve. "Okay, Troy was the only one, but that doesn't make him a rapist."

"No, of course not, but it's just his word against hers. Of course, we'll get our own experts to run tests, but in the meantime..." the lawyer's voice trailed off. His expression telling them all they needed to know.

"So what are we looking at?", Mrs. Bolton asked.

"Most likely it'll go to trial."

"When?"

"I can probably buy us another six months. There's still the evidentiary hearing and there are pre-trial motions I can file. Meanwhile, drum up as many witnesses as you can to testify to Troy's good character."

"What about her character? There must be people who could testify that she's not exactly the Virgin Mary."

"I'm sure that's true, but it won't do us any good. The DA will file a motion to block any testimony on her sexual history. At least, that's what I would do in his place."

It hit Jack with the real force of a blow. "So there's a real possibility that Troy could go to prison."

"There's always that chance. Yes. But I'm still optimistic. A lot can happen between now and then."

Troy just sat stonily still, still feeling tremendous guilt over this whole situation. He knew in his heart he didn't rape her; he wasn't trying to hurt her, but it's not like she had much of a choice in the matter either.

God, this really was whacked.

**TBC**

Hey guys. It's been forever since I updated this one. But hopefully I should have more time now that school's out and I'll update more often. Thanks and please R & R.

about her parents... i think all daddies, more than mommies, have this idealized view of their daughters and will defend them to the bitter end and when you're a millionaire, it's a long way to the end.

From: Evane21 ( /u/1374565/ ) Reply URL: /secure/reviewpm.php?reviewid65768629 -- wow thats rough please update soon i didnt know there was such a thing a grey rape i know this is an odd question but what do you consider rape?

Thanks for the review and that's a tough question. I think in this case, I would definitely be in Troy's corner. But I guess the point I'm trying to make is that she was bashed out of her skull and really had no idea what she was doing. Troy wasn't that far gone; he should have been the responsible party and stopped. In a Disney movie, that's what would have happened, he would have put her clothes back on, even remembering the undies, and driven her to her house and walked her to the door.

But this isn't Disney.


	6. Sharpay's Whacked World

**High School is Not a Disney Movie**

_A High School Musical Fanfiction_

**Chapter 6: Sharpay's Whacked World**

"_You know what? I always loved you, Troy Bolton."_

"_Troy, oh yeah, baby, do it."_

"_Hey, hey, hey! Troy, my man! Congrats, you did it! You alright, dude? You still look pretty fucked up."_

"_I don't want to talk about it, okay?"_

"_It's our turn now. Right, Chad?"_

"_NO! Leave her alone! J-just leave her alone!"_

"_Chill, my man! We cool wit' dat. Right, guys? Troy's done staked his territory."_

"_But what do we do with her now, Chad?"_

"_Damn! We got to get her outta here. Put her clothes back on her, Zeke. Then, we'll take her home."_

"_No, don't touch her! I-I'll do it, okay?"_

"_Sure, sure thing, Troy. Bring her down to my car when you're ready. Oh, and take your time, if you know what I mean."_

Sharpay sat bolt upright in bed, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She'd been having more and more detailed dreams every night since her confrontation with Chad in the hallway at school two weeks ago. When he and his goons had her pinned up against the lockers, it seemed to trigger a memory and more and more came out whenever she slept.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Sharpay slammed her car door and was almost to the sidewalk before Ryan caught up with her.

"Shar, wait for me, will ya?", Ryan called to her.

She slowed down, but didn't stop for him.

"What's going on?", he asked her, anxiously. She'd barely talked to him all week and now that the word was out about Troy being arrested for rape yesterday, she refused any of his efforts to get her to open up to him.

Sharpay came to a sharp stop and quickly turned to face him. "I just don't want to talk right now, okay, Ryan? I didn't sleep well last night and I'm not in the mood for more twenty questions from you."

"If you'd just talk to me, I wouldn't have to bother you", Ryan snapped back defensively. But he quicker softened his tone as he continued, "Look, I'm just trying to help, Sharpay. I swear."

She took a deep breath before responding. "Look, Ryan. I really appreciate what you're trying to do, but I'm just not ready to talk to anyone right now."

"Fine! Be that way", Ryan stormed back at her, "but when the rest of this school turns against you ... and I think that's coming faster than you'd imagine, ..." He stopped his tirade just as he was about to end with his big finish of 'don't come crawling back to me'. Instead he just looked at her gently and took her hands in his. "You know you can always count on me to there for you, Shar. We're connected and that's never going to change."

"Thanks, Ryan. I know I don't say this often enough, if at all, but I really appreciate you."

They dropped hands and Ryan looked regretfully towards the school. "Hey, I've got to go see Coach Dinkins about baseball. I'm thinking of trying out in the spring and I need to get the forms for the sports physical."

"Wow, my little brother is really growing up and going out on his own."

"Yeah, well, it's different, but it's something I want to try."

"Oh, no", Sharpay said ominously as Ryan followed her gaze over to a group of students walking their way.

"What are they up to now?", Ryan asked.

The entire basketball team, sans Troy himself, and most of the scholastic decathlon team had been blatantly disrespectful to Sharpay, bordering on abusive. Now about a dozen of the aforementioned students are slowly walking towards them with innocent smiles on their faces and their hands raised in submission. At least it looked like submission, until Ryan and Sharpay noticed that they were actually smiling like idiots and showing them their sickly green tinged fingers.

"These people are idiots, Ryan. I can't believe you actually chose to associate with them."

The green handed kids, with Chad at the lead, veered off to the left and started giggly wildly at their private joke.

"Well, they weren't this weird in the summer", was his only comment. "Despite this obviously goofy behavior, I don't think they're going to bother you, so I'm going to head off now." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and hurried over towards the gym.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

All the way to her locker, Sharpay kept seeing students with green fingers. _What was this, some sort of new fad?_

Only when she arrived at her once, sparkly pink locker did Sharpay realize what was happening. Not only had they defaced her locker door, but they were all claiming responsibility for it. Proud of what they'd done and knowing she wouldn't do anything about it. What could she do? Report the entire school, further humiliate herself by bringing herself even more unwanted attention.

She couldn't, she wouldn't, do anything.

That realization as much as anything else lead her to start crying as she tried furtively to clean off the foul words. She didn't even hear him walk up until she heard the small, casual, "Hi."

Then, despite the anger she felt at losing control over her life, despite the embarrassment she felt at having Troy Bolton standing there ready to gloat over this debasement of her life, the first thing that came to Sharpay's mind was what her attorney had drummed into her head over and over, every time they'd met -- avoid all contact with Troy Bolton, _don't talk to him_.

Therefore, uber-empowered, confident, glitzy, self-assured Sharpay Evans, turned to Troy Bolton and whispered in a whimpy voice, "I-I'm not supposed to talk to you."

And he, that all-American, home town hero, kind of guy that he is, replied, "I'm not supposed to talk to you, either."

Apparently, their lawyers attended the same law school. However then, he just continued on with the conversation like they were having, well, a conversation -- something, that to be honest, they'd never had before. Normally, it was just her talking _at_ him and him, well, taking it, abet with a stunned and deer-caught-in-the-headlights sort of look to him. In fact, he seemed to look like that for most of the summer.

And despite all of the history they had with each other, Sharpay couldn't help but shrink back a little and feel just a twinge of ... fear? ... in his presence. Then, he continued the conversation by making asinine comments about not realizing that the entire known universe hated her. She responded in the only way possible, by lashing out at him in anger, tinged with sarcasm. After all, the entire school was in on this, why wouldn't he be too? Not until he held up his hands in a mock show of surrender, did she get a good look at the his fingers and noted to her relief that his hands were free of green spray paint.

Then, he left, to her disappointment (although she'd never admit it), only to come back and help her clean her locker.

_This is whacked_, thought Sharpay. _Totally, whacked._

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Vance Evans entered the house with a huge smile on his face. He attended the arraignment alone. It wasn't necessary for Sharpay to give testimony there and everyone thought it would be too traumatic for her to attend.

"Good news, everyone!", he announced to the whole family. "The grand jury made its decision. The trial is going forward and asking for a third degree rape conviction."

Sharpay's mother smiled wanly, Ryan turned his face away from his father and Sharpay quietly rose from her seat and left the room without commenting.

Ryan followed her to her room and walked in without knocking.

Sensing he was there before he said anything, Sharpay announced from her prone position on the bed, "I don't want to talk right now, Ryan."

"That's too bad, Sharpay, 'cause we're going to talk whether you like it or not." Ryan stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind him.

He sat down on the bed next to her and waited ... and waited ... and waited, while she ignored him and continued to stare up at the ceiling.

"Come on, Sharpay. Talk to me", Ryan finally demanded.

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Of course, there is. What really happened that night? What happened to you?"

She looked over at him with a disgusted look on her face, sat up against the headboard and hugged her knees to her chest. "That all depends on your point of view... According to everyone at school, I seduced the poor, innocent, Troy Bolton and coerced him into having sex with me. According to Daddy, I was attacked while I was passed out drunk and Troy raped me. So I guess it depends on whose side you're on."

"I'm on the side of truth", Ryan said and then, couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his mouth. "God, that sounds like something Superman would say. Seriously, I want to be on your side, Sharpay. And I hope that your side is the truth."

"God...", she groaned as she buried her head in her hands. "I don't know what the truth is. I swear, Ryan. I don't remember. And what I do remember... I don't think I want to tell you about. I mean ... shit ... we had sex, okay? That's a given, but I don't remember anything about it except some heavy foreplay and then, waking up on our driveway with Daddy screaming at me. But I do know one thing, I really didn't want Troy to get in trouble over this. I would have never told _anyone_ who it was."

"Then, why did you?"

"I _didn't_. Are you listening to me? It was the D - N - A." Her voice practically hissed out the words.

Ryan had a glazed look on his face for a moment before he realized what she was talking about.

"Ewww", he exclaimed, "that's nasty. Why didn't he use protection?"

"Duh, and how would I know that? Passed out drunk girl, here. Remember?"

"Oh."

There's silence in the room for a moment before Ryan broke it by saying, "God, this really is whacked."

**TBC**

I owe this chapter to SecretCastle. Here's what she said,

"Yup it is totally whacked and I was expecting that kids in school will support Troy. But could you put in Sharpay's POV next time, particularly that part where she meets Troy at her locker. I'm actually wondering how she would react to him helping her clean up that grafitti. I'm thinking she would be resisting his help. I think she'll feel insulted and think he's out to get her even more. I'm also thinking of Ryan, how does this affect him? I think he would support his sister, but I don't know how he can stay friends with his friends (at least his new ones including Gabriella and Chad) if he has a different opinion on the matter. I'm sorry I've got a ton of requests for possible plots points in this story, it's just that it's so good. Keep it up and have a good summer."

And a HUGE thanks to alliealana for all the legal info about rape trials and such.

I had to alter some of the stuff in chapter 5's locker scene so it meshed better than this chapter, so you might want to reread that part.

Oh and btw, all this writing stuff is actually just a silent cry for help and a deep seated need to be acknowledged, so please feed my need and review. Thanks.


	7. We're Both in This Together

**High School is Not a Disney Movie**

_A High School Musical Fanfiction_

**Chapter 7: We're Both in This Together**

He felt the punch before he heard the words.

"You, Goddamn, son of a bitch!"

His head snapped back and it took a second for the words to reach his brain. His hand instinctively went to his eye.

"Gabby?", Troy asked in disbelief. "You hit me. Why did you hit me?"

"I can't believe you did it. I _defended_ you to all my friends. I embarrassed myself saying how there was no way you did anything with her and you ... you ... you fucked her. You actually fucked her." Gabriella was livid.

Troy automatically stepped away from her when she started angrily pacing back and forth across the width of his bedroom. He was keeping an extra careful eye on her fist. He also went to the door and closed it so his parents wouldn't hear anymore of her tirade.

"Gabby, please, calm down", he implored.

"Calm down? Why the hell should I calm down?", she asked and then, without waiting for an answer, plunged forward. "And do you know how I found out the truth? Do you?" But once again, she doesn't wait for an answer. "From my mother. Yeah, can you believe it? My own mother had to be the one to tell me. Do you know what my mother does for a living, Troy? No? Well, I'll tell you. She works for DPS Forensics Laboratory. They're the largest forensics testing laboratory in the southwest. She wasn't supposed to tell me about it, but she said she didn't want me to continue to make a fool of myself over some low-life, cheating slime ball!"

She put her hands on her hips and glared at him with a malice that Troy never knew she possessed.

"Well? Are you going to say anything?"

There was complete silence in the room while he just stared back at her.

"A-are you letting me talk now?", Troy finally asked, timidly.

"Of course, I am."

"In that case... damn it, Gabby. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. Things just got out of hand. We drank too much and ... and ..."

"You know what, Troy? Just forget it. Don't dig an even deeper hole than you're already in."

She walked over to the door, opened it and was about to leave when she suddenly stopped and whirled back around to face Troy. He instinctively lifted his hands up to protect his face.

"And by the way, although I think this is completely unnecessary to say, we're finished. You can just go screw your little whore for all I care."

She turned again to leave, but Troy couldn't help calling out to her. "That's not fair, Gabby. Sharpay's not a whore! That whole night was mostly my fault."

"Then, I hope you get what you deserve!"

"I hope I do too", Troy said sadly, after she left.

Troy waited a few minutes to make sure Gabriella was safely away from the house before leaving his room. Then, he almost ran directly into his mom in the hallway.

"Troy? Is something wrong?", his mom asked as he flew by her and down the stairs.

"Almost everything, Mom."

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

"Yes, Daddy? You wanted to see me?", Sharpay asked coolly. She knew very well why she was there.

The Assistant District Attorney, Sam Waters, stood up as she entered the living room. He was a greasy little man who gave her the creeps whenever she saw him. He had a cackling little laugh and always seemed to be staring at her inappropriately.

Vance Evans sighed at his only daughter. Sharpay's attitude about this trial was far from ideal. She seemed to be trying to oppose Mr. Waters at every opportunity. She would never give him a straight answer and continued to be vague about her attack even in the face of exact and precise physical evidence.

"Sharpay! So good to see you again", Sam Waters said, followed by that irritating little giggle of his.

"Mr. Waters", she acknowledged glumly.

"Please, I've told you before, call me Sam."

"And I've told _you_ before, I don't feel comfortable doing that, _Mr. Waters_", she snapped back at him. Sharpay plopped down into a seat with a loud, much put-upon sigh.

Waters pulled out his notepad and quickly jotted something down while murmuring to himself. "Uncomfortable with the opposite sex..." Then, he looked up and addressed Mr. Evans, "Was she always like that?"

"_She's_ right here and she's only uncomfortable with little cretins like you." Sharpay angrily crossed her arms over her chest and sank deeper into the plush chair.

"Sharpay!" Vivian Evans spoke for the first time by harshly chastising her daughter. "We don't speak to guests in our home in that tone of voice, young lady."

"It's alright, Mrs. Evans", Waters said in a gentle voice. "I understand that this is a very stressful situation for Sharpay and I want to promise you all that I will do everything in my power to see that justice is served."

"And how the hell can justice be served if I can't even remember what happened?", Sharpay jumped to to feet and started to storm towards the rear door leading to the garage.

"Sharpay, where on earth do you think you're going?", Vivian called after her.

"I don't know yet, Mother. But wherever I go it's going to be somewhere I decide because I haven't gotten to decide very much about my life lately."

The ominous slamming of the door reverberated throughout the house and the three adults stood looking at each other, dumbstruck.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Sharpay just drove and drove and drove... And just like she told her mother, she didn't really know where she was going, but when she decided to stop, it would be her decision. Before she realized it, she was driving near the University of New Mexico (a school she would definitely never bother with) and then, she found her destination, a Starbucks. It's perfect. Somewhere familiar where she could relax and yet this particular Starbucks was far enough away from East High that she didn't need to worry about running into anyone from school.

Or so she thought... Sitting at a table in the back was none other than Troy Bolton. Sharpay was just about to turn around and leave when she realized how extraordinary it was that they would both end up at this Starbucks at the same time, so she decided to talk to him.

She quietly ordered her drink and slowly approached his table. He was engrossed in a large hardback novel and didn't even look up. Sharpay cleared her throat and he looked up with a surprised look on his face, but Sharpay was the one who spoke first.

"My goodness, what happened to your face?", she asked with genuine concern.

Troy instinctively reached up and touched his tender eye, then winched at the pain which shot through his face. He replied without looking at her. "Gabby hit me. How did you know I was here?"

"_What?_", Sharpay clutched her Venti Caramel Latte tightly in her hands and snapped at him. "You think I followed you or something? Why the hell would I follow you? You've ruined my life."

"Oh yeah, well, you haven't done much for mine, either", Troy hissed back while trying to not raise his voice and attract any undue attention from the rest of the coffee shop. "Sit down before someone recognizes us." Although the chances of that were slim, she reluctantly sat down in the seat opposite his. Sharpay's name and face had not been revealed by state law because she was still a minor, but Troy's name and picture had been plastered all over the local papers and news since his arrest.

"This is all your fault! You jerk! You're the one who had ...sex... with me."

Troy's eyes narrowed as he whispered, "I noticed you didn't say rape."

Sharpay stopped and took a deep breath before replying. "No, I didn't." She looked down and started to study her coffee cup. Keeping her eyes firmly locked on the cup, she continued, "I never wanted this to end up where it has. You've got to believe me." Then, she slowly raised her eyes to meet his.

"I do, Sharpay. I do. God, we're in such a mess."

In an effort to distract the conversation, she asked, "What are you reading?"

"Monster by Walter Dean Myers", Troy replied.

"Is it some sort horror thing like Frankenstein or the Werewolf or something?"

"It's worse. It's about a 16 year old boy's trial for murder and how the justice system vilifies him into a monster. My lawyer recommended that I read it. He thought I might be able to relate."

"You don't actually think of yourself as a monster, do you?", Sharpay pulled her seat closely to the table and leaned in while lowering her voice.

"Well, everyone else does."

"I don't", she said more quietly than before. "And I'm sorry about Gabriela."

"Yeah well, I guess I made that decision a few weeks ago, right?"

"Yeah. Speaking of which, can we talk about what happened ... you know, that night?"

He looked surprised at her question, but then realized this was a long time coming. "I guess it's about time we talked about it."

They spent the next fifteen minutes giving each other their versions of the evening including Chad's role in it. Surprisingly, after their discussion with each other, they felt closer and more comfortable with each other than ever before.

Troy looked up to meet her eyes. "I'm really sorry, Sharpay. You've got to believe me. I never wanted to hurt you."

"Look's like both of us are in places we never wanted to be."

"The evils of drink..."

"Right", she replied with a slight chuckle. "I definitely haven't drank anything since that night, but then again, my parents have barely let me out of their sight."

"How did this happen, Sharpay? How did all this get blown out of proportion?"

"I don't know, but I have an idea about how to fix it", Sharpay said with a wisdom she didn't know she possessed.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

"How do you know this is his car, Sharpay? His could be any of these?", Troy whispered to her as they crept through the darkened underground parking garage.

"Oh, plu-heeze, Troy. Look around you. It's eight o'clock on a Friday night. Anyone under the age of forty has left. That leaves who? The security guards, the night time cleaning crew and one, over-worked, but dedicated judge." She waved her arm around the garage and gestured to the few cars which still remained. "Now what kind of car would a septuagenarian, white male, judge drive?"

Troy looked around the concrete level with a beaten look on his face. There were only five automobiles there: an old white minivan, a low-rider Honda Civic, two New Mexico State Police cars and late model black Lincoln Town Car which just screamed _grandfather_.

"Yeah, you're right ... about the car, anyway. I'm not so sure about the crazy idea of yours. How do you even know he'll talk to us?"

"I know he won't talk to us if we try to make an appointment. That's why we're going to follow him home and try to talk to him there."

Troy stopped walking towards the car and looked at Sharpay in disbelief. "Are you insane? We could get in serious trouble by harassing a judge. I've already been accused of a crime that could send me to jail."

"It'll work out; trust me. Come on, we've spotted the car; now all we have to do is get back to your truck and follow him when he comes out.

They had barely made it to the truck when the black Town Car came slowly rolling out of the garage and Troy pulled out after it, following it towards home.

Twenty minutes later, the streets were starting to look incredibly familiar.

"Oh, he's turning again. See that!", Sharpay said excitedly as she pointed to the black vehicle.

"Sharpay, he's only driving 25 miles per hour. I'm not going to lose him. Calm down", Troy told her as he slowly realized where he was. "Hey, wasn't that your street, two streets back?", Troy asked as they continued to cruise through northeast Albuquerque.

"Well, judges do make lots of money, so it's not very surprising that he would live in our neighborhood. But hey, how did you know where I live, anyway?", she asked as she took her eyes off the road for the first time.

Troy was grateful it was nighttime because he knew his face paled dramatically when she asked that question. He quickly wet his lips as his mouth went suddenly dry. "Um...", he started without moving his eyes from the road and delivered this final part of the night in a dull monotone. "Zeke knew where you lived. He told Jason; he was the only one sober enough to drive. I-I dressed you and we carried you out to the car. A-and then, we ... oh God, Sharpay. I'm soooo sorry and ashamed of what I did and of everything that happened that night that's the one thing I absolutely wish had never happened."

Troy had become so overcome with emotion that he had to pull the truck over to the curb.

"That's his house -- the large white stucco on the left", Sharpay said in an eerily flat voice.

Troy finally looked over toward her, but Sharpay's eyes had turned back to the street and she refused to meet his eyes.

"Aren't you going to say anything, Sharpay?" Troy was praying for absolution, but would settle for having her scream at him. At least Gabriela had just come right out and hit him. That he could deal with, but this complete ignorance of his confession was horrible.

"What exactly do you expect me to say, Troy? That I forgive you for dumping me like a sack of trash on my driveway?" She finally took her eyes off the house and turned to face him. "I'm trying my damnest to get us out of this mess and I just don't have time to deal your guilt right now. We'll deal with it later, okay?" She had never sounded stronger or more determined than she did right then. "Now let's get up to that house."

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

A tired looking old man opened the door and peered at Troy with deep reservations.

"Judge Masters?", Sharpay stepped forward. "I know this is a terrible imposition, but might we have a few minutes of your time?" And then, as an afterthought, added, "Please?"

Ignoring her, the judge turned to Troy. "Mr. Bolton, you are a defendant in my courtroom and it is highly improper for me to have any sort of discussion with you outside that setting. Now, while I can appreciate that your girlfriend, here", he indicated with a wave of his hand towards Sharpay, "is supporting you. Your attorney is more than welcome to call her as a character witness."

"You don't understand, Your Honor. She isn't my girlfriend."

"No, I'm not. I'm Sharpay Evans."

"Sharpay Evans?", the older man spoke with obvious surprise, "Why are the two of you together? This is highly improper."

"That's what we want to talk to you about, sir", Troy tried to explanation. "Please, just a few minutes of your time?"

With a sigh, the judge acquiesced silently and stepped back to allow them into his home.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

"So what are you here to tell me? That you two had a lovers spat and she's getting 'back' at you by fabricating this entire assault charge?", John Masters sighed wearily as he tried to relax into the plush leather armchair.

The judge had interrupted their story after about 30 seconds when he thought he could see where this was going.

"No!" Troy jumped to Sharpay's defense. "She's not! Please, sir. You've got to listen to us. I really believe that most of what happened in that room was my fault, but I swear, I never intended to hurt her. And I don't believe I raped her."

"Neither do I", came a quiet voice from the other end of the couch.

"Really, Miss Evans?", Masters said skeptically. "Then, what exactly did happen?"

Sharpay tried to clear her throat before she spoke. "Well, ... sir ... we drank too much. And we ended up together in bed." She was deliberately omitted all of Chad's and the others role in this. They already had a plan in the making on how to deal with him. "And ...", she looked very uncomfortable at this point, so Troy interjected.

"Um, we started to make out, sir. And ..."

"In a drunken surge of beer and hormones, we had sex", Sharpay sat up a little straighter, proud of herself for finally getting the chance to tell the truth. "But ..."

"She passed out", Troy nervously rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and seemed to be fascinated by a pattern of the judge's oriental rug. "Um, before it was ... uh ... all over, if you know what I mean."

"And I didn't remember much of anything until my mom found me in my driveway. And didn't really remember much of the whole night until it started slowly coming back to me. In fact, I still don't remember the actual moment of ... well ... the ... um ... act itself ... sir."

"I see...", Judge Masters said slowly. Then, he turned a fierce gaze towards Troy. "Tell me the truth, son. Did anyone else touch her while she was unconscious? Did anyone else have relations with Miss Evans?"

Sharpay closed her eyes and held her breath while waiting for him to reply. She already knew the answer, of course. She had fleeting memories of what happened and Troy had explained how she ended up back at home, but still. It was the most humiliating moment of her life and she wasn't even conscious of it when it happened.

"No, sir", Troy said firmly. "They ... I stopped them, sir. I covered her up before they saw her, you know ... like that. They ... um ... helped me carry her down to the car after I dressed her, but that's it. I swear."

"Good", Masters said with conviction, "because I consider the possibility that she was taken advantage of by more than you when she wasn't even aware of it. Well, that's a little too Veronica Mars for me, if you know what I mean."

"Veronica Mars?", Sharpay asked incredulously.

"I have teenage grandchildren, Miss Evans. We talk." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Soooo, what should we do about this ... situation? I take it you wouldn't be here if you didn't have a plan."

"Yes, sir", Troy said eagerly, very happy to get away from that previous discussion. "We'd like to have the case dropped and the charges dismissed, if that's possible."

"Dropped? Do you know how many billable hours have already been spent on this case by everyone from the lab techs to the attorneys?"

"Yes sir, we do", responded Sharpay, "but it would be an injustice to continue through with this thing. It'll ruin Troy's shot at a scholarship."

"And it's already ruined Sharpay's reputation at school."

"And we were thinking...", Sharpay took up the mantle again, "for all trouble and false accusations and such ... that I could do some sort of community service."

"We", came a definitive word from Troy. Again, "We could do some sort of community service. Both of us ... together." Troy stopped and looked over at Sharpay who was staring at him incredulously. This wasn't the plan. He graced her with a small smile before continuing. "You know, we could like explaining the extreme wickedness of alcohol and premarital sex to fellow high school students."

Jim Masters broke into a broad smile. "Oh, I think we can do better that."

Troy and Sharpay glanced nervously at each other.

**TBC**

Please don't hate me. For those of you who were expecting a big long court trial that would literally rip their lives apart... it's not going to happen.

Let me know what you think ... please.


	8. Retribution

**High School is Not a Disney Movie**

_A High School Musical Fanfiction_

**Chapter 8: Retribution **

"God, prison might have been better than this", Troy groaned as he tried to straighten his aching back. "If I have to pick up one more used condom... And who the hell does it in a ditch anyway?"

He stretched up and shielded his eyes against the harsh New Mexican sun as he looked west along the expanse of the concrete drainage ditch which seemed to go on forever.

"Damn!", groaned Sharpay from his side. "I broke another nail."

Sharpay stood with her right hand clutching two yellow rubber gloves while she stared in disgust at the fingers of her left hand.

"This nail will cost 15 to repair." She looked up at Troy before continuing. "Do you think I could file a voucher with the city to be reimbursed?"

Troy was in a foul mood and almost snapped back at her in anger until he looked up and saw the wry grin on her face.

"Very funny", he replied sarcastically. "Come on, breaks over. We've still got three more miles of ditch to clean."

He reached down and picked up the large orange trash bag.

"I'm ready", Sharpay told him as she pulled on the over-sized gloves, "but you treat for Starbucks when we're finished."

"Unh-uh", he replied, shaking his head in the negative. "They said they wouldn't serve us anymore, remember? The barista said we stank."

"No prob. There's a new one in Rio Rancho and", she leaned in closer to him and stage-whispered, "it's got a drive-thru."

They slowly start working their way down the arroyo, picking up trash as they went.

"You'd drive all the way across the river to get a cup of coffee?"

Rio Rancho was a suburb of Albuquerque to the west and just over the Rio Grande.

"It's not just a cup of coffee -- it's Starbucks."

They continued their light banter as they worked. In the two weeks since they started serving their sentence, Troy and Sharpay had started growing closer and closer, just the beginnings of a true friendship and maybe hints of something else.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Judge Masters fulfilled his promise and right after the state dismissed the case and cleared Troy's name, he sentenced them to 26 weeks of community service. The two of them were required to do trash pick-up once a week in a different arroyo. Concrete arroyos, which are dry most of the year, were used to carry rainwater and melted snow away from the city and back into major waterways. They crisscrossed Albuquerque and went on forever or at least it seemed that way when you were required to walk them.

Their parents were still ambivalent about everything. Vance Evans still had a beat down look in the eyes since he realized that his little girl was sexually active and her mother just gave her a look that said, _I knew it all along._

Lucille Bolton honestly wasn't sure what to think. She wasn't so old that she couldn't remember being Troy's age and getting in over her head with her high school sweetheart. Fortunately, her high school boyfriend quickly became her husband few months after graduation and when Troy was born a few months after that ... well, he was a small baby and no one said anything. And Jack Bolton was still the love of her life. And now that the imminent threat to Troy was over, Lucille found that she couldn't actually find it in herself to dislike Sharpay as much as she wanted. Unfortunately, Jack Bolton hated Sharpay Evans with every fiber of his being for nearly ruining Troy's future.

And Troy couldn't care in the least. He was too wrapped up in his fledgling friendship with Sharpay. The results of his drunken birthday party had left them both isolated from the rest of the school with only the two of them to rely on. Since the criminal charges were dropped, his status as the wronged party and possible hero plummeted too. And his former best friend, Chad Danforth, was now the president of the "I Hate TroyPay Club" which, once again, was fine with Troy. Chad even had graphic t-shirts printed with the slogan. Troy didn't feel the need to associate with him anymore, anyway. Ryan Evans was the only person in the school who was still supporting them. It seemed his love for his sister was enough to transcend any bad feelings he had towards Troy, which was great because he was going to play a significant role in today's main event.

Today was the day they'd been planning for over two weeks.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

"B-Ball God, this is Jazz Square. Are you in position?" The walkie-talkie squawked in a tinny voice.

"Roger that, Jazz Square. B-Ball God and Golden Throat are in position", Troy replied.

Releasing the transmit button, Troy turned to Sharpay to start Operation Revenge, but the look on her face gave him pause.

"B-Ball God? Isn't that a little much?", Sharpay asked with a quirked eyebrow.

They were crouched down in the orchestra pit in East High School's auditorium. Troy was wearing his normal school attire: blue jeans and a t-shirt. Sharpay wore black combat boots, camouflaged capris, a black, body-hugging lycra t-shirt and a matching camouflaged beret.

"Like Golden Throat, isn't?", Troy quipped back with a smile. He rose to his feet, but Sharpay remained hidden in the pit.

"At least I don't refer to myself as a deity."

Troy took a deep breath to prepare himself for his upcoming performance. Sharpay, Ryan and he had rehearsed late into the night, but he still had a huge case of stage fright. He wished that Sharpay could play the main character in this upcoming drama, but he reluctantly realized that was ridiculous. Troy was the only one who could carry this off.

Sensing his unease, Sharpay stood up and put her hands on his shoulders, massaging them a little. Just to think, three weeks ago, she hated him and look how far they'd come. Actually, if she was honest with herself, she never hated Troy Bolton. She just hated the whole drama that sprang up around her because of him.

"Hey, you'll do fine. You rehearsed; you know your lines; you understand the necessary improv. You've got ... uh ... _game_. Right?" Without waiting for a response, she continued, "Good, now go break a leg." Then, glancing at her watch, added, "I'd better get out of here."

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Ryan put down the walkie talkie and looked around the small room one more time. Two doors down from the principal's office and he still felt very secure. He glanced at the door -- check. It's locked tight. He studied the overwhelmingly complex bank of electronics arranged in a mishmash of dials, switches and lights on the panel in front of him. This room housed all the audio equipment used for morning announcements or to contact a particular classroom. However, today, he, Ryan Evans, would be in control of the announcements and they were going to be sweet. He had all the switches set and ready to go.

Ryan leaned back in the chair and started to relax.

"How did you get in here?", came a voice from behind him.

Ryan whirled around to find Taylor McKessie standing angrily in the middle of the room. Ryan quickly looked over to the door to assure himself that it was still locked. It was.

"How did_ you_ get in here?", Ryan shot back.

"I'm supposed to be here and I was in the storeroom getting ready for this morning's podcast."

She must have been in there when he locked the door.

"Podcast? What podcast?", Ryan squeaked.

"You idiot, our morning announcements are uploaded to an iTunes podcast. Where have you been? We've been doing the podcasts since the beginning of the school year."

"Oh. Well, I've been busy", Ryan looked nervously at the clock. It was almost time to start.

"And you never answered my question, Ryan Evans." Taylor stood with her hands on her hips and tapped her foot with impatience. "Why are you here?"

He didn't have time to talk anymore. Instead, Ryan looked to his left and noticed a cardboard box full of coaxial cables. Then, he looked back to Taylor and came to a decision.

Two minutes later, Taylor was securely tied to a chair and no one was the wiser, thanks to the nearly soundproof nature of the control room. Taylor was still spewing insults at him and he was just about to stuff something in her mouth when the walkie-talkie squawked from where he'd left it on the desk.

"Golden Throat to Jazz Square!", Sharpay's voice hissed out of the rectangular device. "We are a go! Repeat! We are a go!"

It was time. In one step, Ryan was in front of the panel. He reached over and flipped the final switch that would set Operation Revenge in motion.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

"Troy! Hey man, where are you?"

Chad's voice echoed throughout the deserted auditorium. He tried to strike a laissez-faire pose, but the quiet and darkness of the theater was a little unnerving. He was so intent on looking into the darkness to spot Troy that he didn't hear the key slide into the lock on the door behind him.

"I'm right here, _man_." Troy put a sarcastic punch to the word, man, indicating that he wasn't sure that he was speaking to a real man.

Chad jumped back in surprise as Troy stepped out from behind the curtain on the stage. "Damn man, you scared me. Where the hell did you come from?"

"I just been waiting for you, Chad. We need to talk."

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Students stopped all over the school and looked up for the source of the voices. Everyone recognized two of the most famous and/or infamous guys in the school. Chad Danforth and Troy Bolton and their voices were coming from the speakers mounted in the ceilings and broadcast throughout the entire building.

Mr. Matsui stood with annoyance and walked toward the broadcast room.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

"Yeah, that's what your message said. So I'm here ... you know ... for old time's sake. But why'd you pick the theatre." Chad pronounced the word _theatre_ with a lyrical flair while he raised his right arm into the air and dramatically swept it forward as he executed an exaggerated stage bow. "Are you becoming some sort of a faggy drama geek again?"

"No, it's nothing like that."

"Oh, I think that's it, dude." He chuckled slightly while running up onto the stage to join Troy. "It's 'caus that little piece o' ass o' yours, Sharpay Evans, probably has you singin' show tunes while you're doin' her." Chad laughed heartily at his little joke. "Oh God, I can just hear it now." His voice switched into a falsetto and he started to sing badly while thrusting his hips forward and back in a suggestive manner. "_The hills are alive ... grunt ... grunt ... with the sound of muuusic_. Shit, that's gotta be it. You know you oughta really be thankin' me for how things worked out. I mean before this whole thing started you weren't gettin' anythang. And now... so how is she? Hot as she looks?"

Troy smiled slightly which Chad took incorrectly as encouragement. This was going to be much easier than he thought. So far, he hasn't had to say anything. Chad was very nicely stepping on his own dick ... all ... by ... himself.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Ms. Darbus swept theatrically down the hallway towards the auditorium -- _her_ auditorium. _This was completely unacceptable._

She arrived at the main door to find a diligent looking Sharpay Evans standing firmly, blocking the entrance.

"What's the meaning of this, Miss Evans?"

"Please, Ms. Darbus. Just wait. This is something that needs to happen", replied Sharpay with her hand raised towards her drama teacher like a crossing guard.

Ms. Darbus backed down from her favorite student and decided to give her a chance.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

"Yeah, you're right, Chad. I guess I should thank you. You certainly have changed my life."

The two of them were walking back and forth across the stage as if they were performing in one of Ms. Darbus' dramas.

"I knew it!", Chad exclaimed as he raised his finger, pointing straight up in the air in a eureka like gesture. "And you've got me to thank. I knew it was a good idea and since you're so happy about it and all, I'll let you in on a little secret." Chad looked left and then, right before speaking. "I made sure it happened in more ways than you know."

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

"Why is he saying all this?", Taylor asked desperately.

"Maybe it's guilt", Ryan replied, remembering the comment that Sharpay told him Chad said to her. "And besides he doesn't know it's being broadcast all over the school." At Taylor's surprised look, he added, "Oh, did I leave out that part? The speakers are turned off in the auditorium, but they're turned on full blast everywhere else in the building." Ryan crossed his arms as a smug look appeared on his face.

Just then, they were interrupted by a pounding on the door. They both jerked their heads over to see a very angry looking Principal Matsui with his face pressed up against the glass window. He was shouting at them, but the insulation of the room was blocking his voice. However, that didn't mean they couldn't guess what he was saying.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

At Troy's feigned shocked expression, Chad continued. "Ha! You didn't know, didya? During the poker game, I slipped some roofies into her drink, just so she'd be nice and cooperative. The only surprising thing was that she was conscious at all. Cuz it knocked Taylor straight out, y'know."

_Damn, he drugged his own girlfriend._ Troy's blood was starting to boil, but he couldn't let on. Chad needed to keep talking.

"I figured something like that happened. I mean Sharpay was really out of it and she didn't drink all that much. 'Cept I would have figured that Zeke would have slipped her a drugged cookie or something."

"Zeke? That pussy. He's still in luuuv with her. He wouldn't do anythang to hurt her, so I had to do it all myself. And a damn fine job I did of it, too. Come clean, Troy. Sharpay Evans was the best damn birthday present you ever got."

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

Coach Bolton joined Ms. Darbus at the door guarded by Sharpay. Some of what Chad said was really hard for her to hear and she slumped against the locked door with her arms folded protectively over her chest, staring down at the floor. There was one single tear trekking its way, unchecked, down her cheek.

The coach stepped forward and gently placed his hand on her shoulder and using the thumb of his other hand, wiped away the errant tear.

Without saying anything, for no words were needed, she looked up and smiled into his kind face.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

"Untie me!", Taylor shrieked as she struggled in vain against her bonds.

"So you can beat me up and help your boyfriend? I don't think so", Ryan retorted as he swiveled back and forth in the office chair.

"You don't understand, Ryan. Didn't you hear what he just said?", Taylor voice started to choke up with emotion. "Chad drugged me too." And then, more to herself than to Ryan added, "Why would he do that to me? I love him. I'd do anything for him."

"Man..."

She seemed to come back to herself and snapped at him. "So untie me, so we can get this thing uploaded to iTunes. It'll be all over the Internet in minutes."

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

"Yeah, Chad. You're right. Sharpay is the best thing that's ever happened to me, but not for how you think. She's a really nice person once you get to know her." Then, he dramatically spun around as if he was making an announcement to the whole world, or in this case, the whole school. "And I am very proud to say that she is my BFF."

A sad, confused look flitted across Chad's face before being replaced by anger.

"I thought I was your BFF", he pouted back at Troy.

"You thought wrong, Chad. And I don't even want to be around you anymore. In fact, I'm ready to get out of here now."

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

When Sharpay heard the prearranged signal, she nodded to Coach Bolton while giving a fleeting glance to the gathering of students who had been listening silently in the halls. Then, she turned, unlocked the doors and flung them open. In the sound room, Ryan started reconfiguring the microphones and speakers back to normal and Taylor gleefully typed in the commands to upload the entire file to iTunes.

Troy walked out almost as soon as the doors opened with a befuddled Chad close on his heels. He looked at Sharpay and realized immediately that she had been crying, so he stepped quickly up to her and enveloped her in a comforting hug.

She pulled back after a few seconds and looked into Troy's eyes.

"You done great, Bolton ... better than we rehearsed."

"Aaaah, I didn't do nothing, ma'am", Troy retorted in a 'aaah, shucks' manner. "Chad did everything all by his lonesome."

"I did what?", came a voice from behind them.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough, Chad", Sharpay replied as she continued to stand next to Troy who had his arm slung comfortably over her shoulder.

Just then, everyone's attention was drawn to Mr. Matsui as he made his way through the throng of students to stop in front of Chad Danforth.

"Mr. Danforth", Dave Matsui sighed, "you'll need to come with me now."

"What? I don't understand, sir. What seems to be the problem?", Chad asked politely. His voice reverting back to uber politeness.

"Go along with him, Chad", Coach Bolton advised. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

Chad numbly followed the principal back towards his office past the hostile glares of his fellow students.

**:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:**

The hallway outside the auditorium slowly started to clear and the students hurried off to their next classes.

Ms. Darbus turned to Sharpay and Troy. "Don't worry about being late to class this morning. Just come in whenever you feel up to it." Then, she turned and swept down the hall back to her classroom.

"Sharpay?", Jack Bolton called softly to the small blonde. "Lucille and I would love to have you come over for dinner tonight, unless you two have something else planned."

"Oh, no. I-I mean. We...", she paused for a second enjoying how good it felt to use the plural pronoun when referring to Troy and herself. "We don't have anything planned and I'd love to come for dinner."

"Good", Coach replied. "I'd better get going and give Lucille a heads up. We'll see you around seven."

"Yes, sir. And thank you."

"Wow, this is amazing. Did you see how everyone was looking a Chad?", Troy remarked as they walked hand in hand down the empty halls towards class.

"Yeah, it's how they been looking at me since this thing started." She craned her neck to look up at him. "And you, since you started hanging around me."

"I'm sor..."

"Don't. We don't need to go there anymore, Troy. We only need to go forward, not backwards."

"And can we go forward together?", Troy asked with a bit of hesitation in his voice.

"That would be fabulous." She flashed a million watt smile at him and squeezed a little more tightly to his hand as they continued their casual stroll to class.

**The End**

This is it, guys! The end of another one. If you've waited until now to review, now is the time. And thank you very much for taking the time.

Looky, I threw in some educational stuff about arroyos. They're really very dangerous during the monsoon season (late summer) and you always hear about some little kid drowning in them.

Does you school podcast their morning announcements? I know a lot of schools do and if you're exceptionally bored or just doing research for a story, you can go to iTunes and listen to them. My school didn't, but we're backwards in many ways.

Couldn't help the little nod to my story, Unlove You, with the comment about Zeke and drugged cookies.


End file.
